How to become Vegetarian

Many people ask me how I decided to become a vegetarian. Most people think it is a decision you just make one day and BOOM – you immediately stop craving any meat products. While many people might have done it that way, such was not my case. From the moment I started to get close to a vegetarian lifestyle to the moment I decided to seriously try to be a vegetarian took me nearly 4 years.

First, when my mom decided to go veggie, I decided not to eat meat products at home. I didn’t want my mom to feel inhibited in her own kitchen. I thought I ate out often enough to be able to “hack” eating only vegetarian food at home. After doing that, I noticed that I started craving meat less and less when I was ordering out in restaurants.

When I moved out of my mom’s house, I decided that my kitchen would remain vegetarian so she would not feel uncomfortable when visiting me. I also decided at some point in between to stop buying canned goods, to stop drinking regular carbonated drinks, to stop buying foods with artificial coloring or chemical ingredients I can’t pronounce. I started buying foods made with whole grains, as well as fresher and more authentic choices. I decided to take some cooking classes to help me shift the way I looked at foods and to get to know new ingredients options.

So, to help the ones that might be considering becoming vegetarian but do not know where to start or consider it too daunting of a project… I say to all of you – START SMALL. Break it down into smaller steps and you’ll be more likely to be successful. Here are some ideas you can implement yourself:

Decide to stop eating your least favorite meat product first. For most people it’s red meat, for others it’s seafood. Whatever it is for you, it’ll be easier to leave what you like the least. Little by little, you might decide then to stop eating some other meat product, and another, and another, and another…

Consciously decide not to eat meat several days a week. Start with 2 days. Hey, you’ll still have 5 other days to eat “whatever”. You’ll start seeing the difference in how you feel those days. Maybe you’ll like the recipes and choices you have those days so much, that you’ll unconsciously increase those days little by little.

Decide to eliminate from your pantry canned goods, foods with chemical preservatives, artificial ingredients or animal additives. I started buying evaporated milk in cartons, tomato sauces, roasted red peppers and olives in glass jars. Frozen vegetables and fruits substituted the canned variety. I started buying whole grain rice, 100% whole wheat bread or 100% whole grain cereals. Sodas were out of my diet. Whenever I wanted something carbonated, I would have a Perrier or San Pellegrino with lime. I stopped buying foods whose list of ingredients were larger than the actual product and if I just could not pronounce something in the list I would just put it back. Off-limits ingredients now are gelatin, carmine coloring, eggs, rennet, which are all animal-based ingredients. Always go with the simpler ingredient lists… even going down to buying products with no ingredient list at all. Which takes us to our next point…

Redefine your dinner plate – look at the rice, the pasta or a casserole as the main part of your dish. Think of that vegetable rice or spinach and mushroom risotto as the main dish. To me, a macaroni and cheese or vegetable lasagna with a side salad and plantains is a round meal. Pastelones or casseroles containing potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, and a variety of vegetables and vegetable proteins eaten with a nice salad is a complete meal.

Take some vegetarian cooking classes and visit vegetarian websites or blogs (wink, wink) for recipe ideas. It’s a good thing you’re already reading this. That means you’ve already found my vegetarian blog. Learn how to make new recipes… but also see that making onion soup with vegetable stock will taste just as good as your traditional recipe, if not better. Mofongos can be made just as good without the pork rinds. Even a bacalaito can be made without the salted cod fish (bacalao) and taste great, because most of the flavor comes from another place and not from the animal products.

I hope these ideas will help you see that living a vegetarian lifestyle is not as daunting as you may have thought. Even if going vegetarian is not the thing for you, integrating some of these ideas into your lifestyle will definitely have you eating better and more healthful. Try it… you’ll not regret it.

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6 Responses to “How to become Vegetarian”

Hi, this is what I want and what my body needs to go Vegetarian!
I am addicted to meat, steak, and a lot of meats. Can’t help it. I need help on this matter.
KFC – I get it… but my advice to you is not to force it. if you feel you want to try out vegetarianism… START SMALL – stop eating the meat product you enjoy the least. That will make it easier. If you want, visit my post HOW TO BECOME VEGETARIAN. It may give you some ideas on how to transition into vegetarianism at your own pace. And much success in your journey…

This was so helpful! I’ve recently purchased a book on “Becoming Vegetarian” and I haven’t gotten it in the mail yet, however I’m already trying to branch out and I found your blog and I absolutely love it! I’m glad you wrote this and I particularly love how you advised to “start small.” This was a great piece of advice and I cannot wait to make your Cinnamon Vanilla Baked Plantains!! 🙂 Have a wonderful day!

I really love your post on the vegetarian lifestyle. The best way to become a vegetarian is by taking it slowly. It is important to see a doctor or nutirtionist. A great course that helps new budding vegetarians is called Vegetarian’s Beginner’s Guide 30 Day Course https://twitter.com/#!/vegbegguide go here to find out when it will be available to get a copy!

Thanks Nicole… I think it’s also important not to put deadlines on ourselves. That just adds unneeded pressure! Changing our minds programming of years in just 30 days might be a tad ambitious and not conducive for long-term success, IMHO.